A robot is provided having a kinematic chain comprising a plurality of joints and links, including a root joint connected to a robot pedestal, and at least one end effector. A plurality of actuators are fixedly mounted on the robot pedestal. A plurality of tendons is connected to a corresponding plurality of actuation points on the kinematic chain and to actuators in the plurality of actuators, arranged to translate actuator position and force to actuation points for tendon-driven joints on the kinematic chain with losses in precision due to variability of tendons in the plurality of tendons. A controller operates the kinematic chain to perform a task. The controller is configured to generate actuator command data in dependence on the actuator states and image data in a manner that compensates for the losses in precision in the tendon-driven mechanisms.
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2. The robot of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of tendons connected to the actuation points on the kinematic chain and to the actuators, wherein the plurality of tendons are arranged to translate the positions and forces of the actuators to the corresponding actuation points on the kinematic chain, wherein variability of the tendons causes the variability in translating the positions and forces of the actuators to the corresponding actuation points on the kinematic chain.
3. The robot of claim 2, wherein the first end effector is connected to a first branch of the kinematic chain, and wherein the image sensor is connected to a second branch of the kinematic chain that is different from the first branch of the kinematic chain.
4. The robot of claim 3, further comprising a second end effector connected to a third branch of the kinematic chain.
5. The robot of claim 2, wherein the actuators are positioned upstream of the root joint on the kinematic chain.
6. The robot of claim 5, wherein there are no actuators downstream of the root joint on the kinematic chain.
7. The robot of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of joint angle sensors disposed in the kinematic chain to generate joint angle sensor data, wherein the controller is configured to generate the actuator command data based on the actuator state data, the image data, and the joint angle sensor data.
8. The robot of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of tactile sensors disposed on the first end effector to generate tactile sensor data, wherein the controller is configured to generate the actuator command data based on the actuator states, the image data, and the tactile sensor data.
9. The robot of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of proximity sensors disposed on the first end effector to generate object proximity data, wherein the controller is configured to generate the actuator command data based on the actuator state data, the image data, and the object proximity data.
10. The robot of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of pressure sensors disposed on the first end effector to generate contact pressure data, wherein the controller is configured to generate the actuator command data based on the actuator state data, the image data, and the contact pressure data.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein driving the plurality of actuators comprises translating the positions and forces of the actuators to the actuation points on the kinematic chain using a plurality of tendons connected to the actuation points and the actuators, and wherein the actuation command data compensates for losses in precision in performance of the task due to variability of the tendons.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the sensor data indicating positions of the object and the first end effector comprises generating the sensor data using at least one first sensor connected to a second branch of the kinematic chain and at least one second sensor disposed on the first end effector.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the sensor data indicating positions of the object and the first end effector comprises generating at least a portion of the sensor data using an image sensor connected to a second branch of the kinematic chain.
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September 12, 2023
December 24, 2024
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